The European Solar Decathlon took place in Madrid in late September and included teams from around Europe as well as Brasil and China.  There are some really interesting designs that came out of the competition and given that Europe is usually quicker to adopt and implement sustainable strategies, it’s worth reviewing the top designs.

Team Rhone-Alpes won the overall competition with their modular Conopea  House which can grouped horizontally to vertically to create even more efficient clusters or, “nanotowers” as the team calls them. The concept is inspired by the forest canopy eco-system which captures 95% of solar energy and 30% of rainfall. The design relies on the pooling of resources collected by each building for greater project autonomy. While one module can survive on its own, their collective impact is exponentially greater thus promoting controllable density.

Canopea House

Team Andalucia won the Energy Efficiency and Innovation Category with its Patio 2.12 House. This design is the work on four Andalucian Universities and rather poetically is manifested in 4 pre-fabricated structures around a central courtyard. The entire building is built upon a plinth which makes assembly and dis-assembly significantly easier and allows for complete removal of the building from the site it occupies. The design addresses both energy consumption and human comfort with elements like the pond which is part of the cooling system, water recycling system and is integrated into the main approach to the project.

Patio2.12

No Surprise here: Germany won the Engineering Prize with their ECOLAR House submission.  Their modular and adaptable design is made from sustainably sourced wood construction, hemp insulation and phase change ceiling panels. The design also incorporates 3 different kinds of vertical and roof-top solar panels which are considerately integrated into the design. The proposal is simple and beautifully detailed with warm materials and both indoor and outdoor spaces.

Ecolar House

Overall, the submissions employed a robust implementation of passive strategies, efficient use of materials, construction techniques, and active technologies. The more seamlessly integrated all of the different elements are, the more easily they can be applied to projects of all types and sizes.

Insulation is one of the main strategies being implemented to improve the energy efficiency of buildings around the world. However, this strategy is less affordable in the US because of the added cost of treating the insulation materials with flame retardants. Furthermore, the flame retardant...

Last week I went to see Urbanized by Gary Hustwit which was being screened as part of the San Francisco Green Film Festival. Things got off to a pleasing note when the short animated film Second Hand by Isaac King was played as an opener for the evening. I loved the message and was...

Trailor

I will be starting an educational series of blog posts on very basic passive design issues. The hope is that they will either introduce new topics or refresh the issues in the minds of those who perhaps have forgotten the lessons of passive design. While the posts themselves...

The recent article in Architectural Record about the respectable energy targets for the new Barnes Museum design by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects raises an issue that sparks further discussion. By now, the strategies for reducing energy use in offices and residential projects are mostly...

While reducing the energy use of buildings is essential for a sustainable future, it is equally important to improve the conditions in which humans live, work, play, heal etc.. The benefits of natural daylight and ventilation have been proven to improve productivity and reduce sick days in office...

Happy new year! After a short hiatus, I plan to be posting a lot more regularly. I have been very caught up in professional development, but luckily my experiences over the past few months have yielded some new interesting topics that I think are worth sharing. Sustainable Design Daily will...

Note: This post was supposed to be rolled out on Halloween... in tribute to it being a very scary subject that causes controversy all across the architecture, construction and building performance industries. Despite this controversy I wanted to provide a general overview of the topic and a guide...

With several articles about the new Net-Zero Bullit Center in Seatle in the press NYTimes, (Citytank,  and the NYTimes again to name a few) It seems a good time to shed some light on the Living Building Challenge. The Bullit Center is aiming for Living building certification and is the first...

  Shipping container architecture is fast becoming the hot new green trend for both designers and DIY’ers who want their own sustainable, chic home. My brother and his wife have asked me to design them a shipping container home and despite my familiarity with the topic I was pretty...

The word sustainable gets thrown around a lot these days and most people don’t really now what it means. I have put ‘part 1′ in the title because I believe that sustainable design is a continually evolving concept and it is difficult to define it in a few hundred words...

The 2007 University of Maryland LEAFhouse placed second on the international Solar Decathlon competition, but the innovative interpretation of an environmental technology that resulted in the desiccant waterfall is a perfect example of the possibilities of integrated design. (The Solar Decathlon...